Tag Archives: Nicholas Kang

The Portrait of Doctor Gachet

September 17, 2021

Nicholas Kang Auckland, New Zealand   Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh. June 1890. Private collection. Via Wikimedia. On a spring evening in New York, a portrait is unveiled before a crowded auction room. It pictures an older man wearing a dark blue coat with luminous green buttons. His elbow rests on a red table beside […]

Letters from the asylum

January 30, 2018

Nicholas Kang Auckland, New Zealand   Asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausol, Provence, France. After cutting off his ear, Vincent van Gogh spent a year in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence confined to a mental asylum. Despite several major relapses during his stay, he continued to work prolifically, completing more than 140 paintings including masterpieces such as Starry Night, Irises, and Almond […]

Nabokov’s first masterpiece

January 31, 2017

Nicholas Kang Auckland, New Zealand   Gradually the lights disappeared, the phantoms grew sparser, and a wave of oppressive blackness washed over him.   Nabokov famously composed his novels on index cards. ‘I am rather particular about my instruments: lined Bristol cards and well sharpened, not too hard, pencils capped with erasers.’ The Defense, a […]